422 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[September i, 1909. 



1905-06 55I.626 kilos [=1,213,577 pounds]. 



1906-07 4.33.648 kilos [= 954,026 pounds] . 



1907-08 459,192 kilos [= 1,010,222 pounds]. 



19C8-09 492,763 kilos [= 1,084,079 pounds]. 



Average, seven years 445,960 kilos [= 981,112 pounds]. 



The productive capacity of the company's seringaes is much 

 larger than these figures indicate, and their intention, now that 

 their capital has been increased, is to open many more estradas. 

 In The India Rubber World of July i, 1909, appeared photo- 

 graphic views of important scringaes in the Amazon region. 

 Similar views appear in the ".-Mbuni do Rio Acre" of three large 

 .':criiigaes and three river steamers owned and operated by Alves 

 Braga & Co., and besides they own many more. The scringacs 

 are: 



"Panorama," on the left bank cf the upper Acre; area, 

 98,106,800 square meters [=24,243 acres] ; annual production, 25 

 to 30 tons. Manager, Adolpho Barbosa Leite. 



"Nova Empreza," on the left bank of the Acre; annual pro- 

 duction, 40 tons. Manager, Colonel Hypolito Mcreira. 



"Esmeralda," at the confluence of the river Xapury with the 

 Acre. 



"Recreio" (adjoining and not photographed), on the left bank 

 of the Xapury; area, 2,598.550 square meters [=642 acres]. 



The steamers are the Amaconense, 250 tons; Antaconas, 190 

 tons ; Prompto, 120 tons. 



AN AMAZON RUBBER SYNDICATE. 



Under tlie name "A Productora Amazonica" has been formed 

 at Para a syndicate of "professional rural producers" of the 

 Amazon Valley, under the provision of the decree of the Federal 

 government of Brazil, No. 979, January 6, 1903. [See The India 

 Rubber World, January i, 1909— page 154.] The present syndi- 

 cate is concerned with india-rubber. As stated in the by-laws: 



The syndicate will endeavor to help its members by furnishing the 

 means that they may need, either with the funds of the association, or 

 with those resulting from the financial operations that it may realize, not 

 placing the borrowers in any other obligation than the payment of interest. 



To be a member of this rubber syndicate "it is necessary to 

 be a proprietor, or to assist directly or regularly with the 

 necessary elements for the promotion of the business." In other 

 words one must be the owner of the serin gal (rubber camp) or 

 an aziador (a supplier of goods), as set forth in The India 

 [■(UBBER World, July i, 1909 (page 347). 



The syndicate will be managed by a board of its members, 

 serving gratuitously, elected at a general meeting, which board 

 may appoint a manager and a treasurer, each with a salary. By 

 the way, the voting power of each member of the syndicate will 

 be proportional to the previous annual production of rubber. 

 But the details of the by-laws of A Productora Amazonica, 

 verified at Para, July 15, 1909, are of less importance than the 

 general objects of the association, which may be stated as 

 follows : 



Producers of rubber in Brazil may, by compliance with cer- 

 tain laws, export their product at a lower rate than is exacted 

 under the general rule. But it must first be established to the 

 satisfaction of the authorities that (i) the rubber in question 

 has actually been produced by the parties holding it; (2) that 

 it is being exported directly by them to foreign buyers; and (3) 

 that those dealing with the rubber are solvent and responsible 

 parties. In order that the latter consideration may obtain the 

 government requires the cooperation of a number of producers 

 (not less than seven) ; hence the idea or requirement of a 

 syndicate. 



The advantage to exporters direct (who are actual producers 

 of rubber) under an act of the Para legislature is indicated by 

 the following table, showing the rate of export duties required 

 in that state : 



Up to 5.246 milreis per kilogram 22 per cent. 



From 5. 250 to 5.500 milreis per kilogram 21 per cent. 



From 5.501 to 5.800 milreis per kilogram 20 per cent. 



From 5.801 to-6.ioo milreis per kilogram 19 per cent. 



■Over 6.100 milreis per kilogram 18 per cent. 



It will be seen here that the intent of the law, in part, is to 

 encourage conditions which will keep up prices of rubber, since 

 the higher the price, the greater will be the reduction of export 

 duties But this, of course, will be regulated by the conditions in 

 consuming markets. By the way, 5,246 milreis, mentioned in 

 the table, are equivalent, with exchange at 15 pence per milreis, 

 to $1.58, and 6,100 milreis to $1.82.4. 



It is understood that the firms named below, among others, 

 have subscribed to the articles of A Productora Amazonica. 

 Opposite each name is placed the amount of rubber the firm has 

 produced (i) on an average during si.x crop years prior to 1908- 

 9; and (2) during 1908-9 — all figures indicating kilograms [l 

 kilograms =: 2.2 pounds]. It must be stated, further, that this 

 relates to up-river rubber alone, besides which some firms have 

 produced Islands rubber. 



Firm. .\\. 6 Years. 1908-09. 



R. Suarez & Co 663,138 1,301,697 



Mello & Co 997.245 927,907 



Barbosa & Tocantiu'- 319,793 764,668 



Alves Braga & Co 438,160 492,763 



Rocha Silve & Co 176,782 369,398 



Cerqueira Lima & '"n 340,319 219,042 



Pina Fernandes & Cn 287,466 209,032 



La Rocque. Mello &• Cn 67,548 143.441 



Antonio Cruz & Co 408,925 123,864 



.^rmindo R da Fonseca 222,039 101,454 



Vclhote Silva & Co 192,937 83,003 



Total 4,114,352 4,736,269 



The new syndicate has organized with Baron de Souza Lages 

 as president ; Antonio Rodrigues Alves vice-president ; Wan- 

 Dyck Amanajos Tocantins and Joao da Rocha Fernandez secre- 

 taries. They will serve until July next. 



SUAREZ INCORPORATED. 



The long anticipated conversion of the rubber business of 

 Suarez, on the upper Madeira, in Bolivia, into a corporation is 

 at last a reality. A sketch and portrait of "Nicolas Suarez, a 

 .South American Rubber Baron," appeared in The India Rubber 

 World April i, 1905 (page 223), with an, account of the develop- 

 ment of the great crude rubber business under his control. 

 Taking his brothers into partnership one by one, his firm pros- 

 pered ; they opened their own houses in Manaos, Para and Lon- 

 don, and sold direct. Their operations last year covered 1.302 

 tons of the 38,065 tons arriving at Para, or 3.4 per cent. There 

 is no invidious distinction in stating here that the Suarez rubber 

 long has been known to manufacturers as absolutely the best 

 "Para rubber" produced, and hence realizing the highest prices 

 paid for the output from the Amazon. 



Nicholas Suarez is no longer a young man, and he is now 

 the sole surviving brother, so it is not surprising that he has 

 consented to turn over his busines to a corporation. The busi- 

 ness has been carried on under the names — 



Suarez Hermanos [Suarez Brothers], in Bolivia. 

 R. Suarez & Co., on the .\mazon, 

 Suarez Hermanos & Co,, in London, 



The new company is Suarez, Hermanos & Co,, Limited, regis- 

 tered in London .\ugust 5, 1909, with £750,000 [=$3,649,875] 

 capital. The first directors are Nicholas Suarez and his nephew, 

 P. Suarez, a son of the late R. Suarez. The latter was consul 

 general for Bolivia in London, to which position P. Suarez has 

 succeeded. The offices of the new company are at 12, Fenchurch 

 street, London. The company will succeed t-o the interest of 

 the Suarez firm in A Productora Amazonica, tnentioned else- 

 where in this paper. 



The Lon<lon Daily Express recently sent circulars to a nuin- 

 ber of British manufacturers, inviting an expression of their sym- 

 pathies as between protection and free trade. The leading rubber 

 manufacturers were included, but the responses from this trade 

 were not numerous, and the firms responding, for t!ie inost 

 part, did not care to be quoted over their names. 



